


Second Chances

by StrawhatsAndDelibirds



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Attempted Murder, Body Horror, Dark Thoughts, Human Sans AU, Kidnapping, Night Terrors, Thoughts of death, sleep paralysis, suffocating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-22 08:34:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 22,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6072379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrawhatsAndDelibirds/pseuds/StrawhatsAndDelibirds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Is it possible to survive a gun shot to the face? Is it possible to survive a drop to the bottom of a ravine after getting shot in the face?<br/>Lets find out.<br/>Idea based off a headcanon from Ross from Game Grumps.</p><p>Follow me on my tumblr if you have any comments, questions, concerns, or ideas for possible future works at strawhatsanddelibirds.tumblr.com</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to those who were with me on that brief panic attack at two in the morning when I thought that I had to start chapter one all over again.

He knew what he had done.

It was stupid, and anyone with half a brain could figure out what he had done was wrong. Well it was wrong to begin with, but it was less of a what he did, and more of a who he did it to. That was chance number three, and by that point, you’d think that even blackout drunk he’d know better. Last time they had taken him into an alley and each took turns kicking him in the stomach.

But as bad as broken ribs and possible internal damage they had left him with that night seemed like a pleasant dream right now. His wrists and ankles were bound, and he had been gagged, and he couldn’t even do much to protect his head from the bumps they were going over in this surprisingly shitty van. He thought that it’d be a little nicer of a vehicle, but considering these guys were nothing short of short tempered goons for the mob, he could understand why they weren’t really riding in style.

It could’ve also had to do with the fact that he was also hungover, and the constant banging on his head, and how he slid around the dirty, metal floor of the empty back of the van. Of all the places he had woken up after passing out drunk, this was probably the worst. And it was going to stay that way, because he knew damn well that this would be the last place he ever woke up.

Because he knew they were taking him somewhere away from the city to kill him, and no one was ever going to find his body. But just sliding around back there made him think about what he’d leave behind.

Actually it wasn’t all that much. A mattress that should’ve been replaced ages ago that had been worn down to the point of basically letting him touch the floor when he laid on it, not to mention the weird smell that it had, a fridge that was probably only had a couple of beers in it at this point, a some basic kitchen stuff that probably all needed to be cleaned, a shitty little apartment that was falling apart, and the crippling debt that he had owed to a lot of people.

He could still hear those jackasses in the front of the van laugh and jeer at him. Because obviously he wasn’t dealing with enough at the moment. He couldn’t make out what they were saying, but he knew that none of it was pleasant, or really anything that he wanted to hear, just by the expression on their stupid faces. He had vague recollections of pounding one of their faces in, and god what he would do if he could just remember that clearly so his final moments could be at least a little more pleasant.

Really the build up to this was probably going to be worse that the actual bullet itself. Because this felt like it was talking longer than it should. He couldn’t help but wonder if time was supposed to feel like it was dragging on like it was. Because it felt like this ride had lasted longer than it should’ve. There was really no need to go through the trouble of taking him out so far out of town. Outside of maybe the bartender in the local bar and the landlord of his shitty little apartment, no one would probably even notice he was gone. He made no real connections, and aside from the money that he owned so many people, but was never able to get to pay them back, he’d probably end up completely forgotten.

Even then, he’d only be noticed after maybe a month or so. And then he’d just be forgotten. Thinking about it just made him dread the execution that awaited him. Because once it was over and done with, he’d just be forgotten, and it’d be like he never even existed. And it was just something about that that made him feel awful, and that he wanted to live. Just so he could be remembered for something. Anything. So that he wouldn’t just fade into absolutely nothingness instantly.

But on the other hand, he had dug himself a hole so deep, that there was no hope of escape now. He had been doomed to failure from the start. He had no social skills, no money, and no education. Where did you go when you hit rock bottom, and then kept digging? And there was really nothing that he had that was worth anyways.

God he wished there was something else for him to do right now. But really he could either dwell on this, or he could listen to whatever these assholes had to say. Really he didn’t have to do anything for them. He was already going to go there, and he was going to die. Even if he was nice to them, there was no saving himself now.

None of this even felt real. To think that it was all going to end today. It was all so surreal to think that when they got to wherever their goal was, they were going to kill him there. What would even happen to him after that? Sure he’d be dead, but what about his soul or whatever. Something had to happen to that after, right? It probably be best if he didn’t think about it. He hadn’t done anything worthwhile to save his soul and take him to heaven or whatever. Not after stealing and cheating his way through life. Hell would probably be the only end up in hell.

Fuck, there was nothing to think about that didn’t completely suck. It’s not like he really had anything that didn’t have to do with the fact that he was dying or what happened after death. Really this car ride made him want to just accept the bullet. Because the suspense was probably worse than the actual bullet was going to be.

The van stopped and he came tumbling forward. He attempted to move his hands to protect his face, but it was a lot harder to move his hands from behind his back to in front of him than he had thought. It certainly not as fast as he wanted it too. The laughing from the two goons in the front of the van didn’t go unnoticed. But really, he couldn’t give less of a shit about what they thought of him.

“Hey, it’s your stop. Don’t worry, we brought you back to your own kind, jackass.” One of them sneered as he got out of the smell. It was hard to tell exactly where they were over the smell of old tobacco and cheap booze. It wasn’t long before he was yanked from the back of the van and out onto the dirt. And it seemed like they weren’t done on their adventure just yet, as they kept dragging him. Out of the smell of the van, it was pretty clear as to where he was now. It was without a doubt, a dump.

“What? You too stupid to get the joke? Because there’s two of ‘em there. First’ve all we call you trash. We brought you to the dump because you’re garbage. The other joke here is just you. I mean god, look at you. Did you really think that we’d just give you the money? You’re so goddamn stupid. You don’t even know what a loan is. I bet you can’t even read. Fucking idiot.” The two of them laughed. He didn’t say a word.

With a shove, he was thrown onto a pile by a pit. He had no idea just how far it went. Where they just going to just kick him down there? It seemed like there was still a good chance he could make it, even if it was a long drop. Here he was still positive that he was going to be shot and killed, and not just left to die in a pit on a dump somewhere.

He could feel his skin being torn as he was drug through whatever was under him. He knew that whatever damage was being done to his body was bad. Fuck if he knew what was actually hurting him, but skin was definitively being broken by something in the dump that was no doubt do something that he would worry about if his circumstances were different.

“It’s probably not even worth wasting my breath explaining anymore basic concept like loans and jokes. Now let’s see if we can find something to cover that ugly face of yours.” And then their attention was turned to the trash heaps around them. They looked at a few things, and really, he didn’t even put in the effort to try and save himself. There was no saving himself, so why bother.

“Looks like you’re smart enough to know better than trying to run off. Now what do you think of this?” A cheap skeleton mask was held up. It didn’t really matter, and he didn’t really feel like dignifying that with an answer. But the lack of answer was taken as a yes, as the mask was soon put on his head.

It was a pretty shitty last few minutes. He could feel his breath fogging up the inside of his mask, and it felt like he was suffocating. Not to mention he could see almost nothing through the mask, and his breathing was near deafening. The other guy sat him up, so he was kneeling before them.

Through the limited amount of what he could see and hear, he was still well aware of the gun being drawn and cocked.

“No last words? I mean it’s not like it matters, the last words from a useless piece of shit like you will be forgotten just as quickly as they were said. Just like you’ll be forgotten just as soon as you’re killed. No one’s going to remember you. Hell, I bet you don’t even have a name. Let’s see if hell will even accept something as pitiful as you.” He took a deep breath as he readied himself for what was going to befall him.

But there’s really no readying yourself for a gunshot to the head. It felt like his entire head was going to explode. But to be fair, he was dying. So it was very possible that his head was probably blown to pieces. The smell of blood filled the cheap mask that was his current and final prison. What was left of his vision was gone as something had fallen into his eyes and completely blinded him.

The last thing that he could remember before everything went blank from the screaming pain in his head, was him falling backwards into what he could only assume was the pit behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

What he had been expecting was nothing.

Just blackness and silence for the rest of forever. Or fire and screaming of the damned. He wasn’t quite sure which, but not for life to continue on. And certainly not in the way that he saw.

The part of the dump he was in was dark, but he could still see. And he could see a lot better than he thought he would, as if his eyes had already been adjusted. There was still a little light from an opening from above, so this must’ve been the abys that he had been pushed into. There were also crystals around him in the walls of the cavern that glowed a faint blue. If it weren’t for all the trash, this might be a nice place.

Some weird things about this, was the fact that he was up and walking around, and that his head didn’t seem to hurt despite the bullet hole in his head. He wasn’t sure that he was controlling this body either. He was just a prisoner in this body along for the ride. Was this his new reality? Just forced to watch someone make better decisions in life than he ever did?

He was definitively in hell. Whatever cruel god was just going to make him watch someone who actually had their life together and show him all the ways that he had messed up. As if his death weren’t enough of a punishment for him being the fuck up that he had been his entire life, now he was going to have to suffer through someone else’s life and powerless to do fuck all about anything for the rest of whoever this is’ life.

It wasn’t even the beginning. This was so stupid. Now he was going to be confused and pissed off about this. He spent enough of his life confused and pissed off, and it seemed as though death wasn’t kind enough to stop that.

There was a voice that he heard from behind them. It didn’t sound happy. And by how panicked the movements got, it seemed as though he wasn’t the only one who fucked up in some way. He wasn’t quite sure if it made him feel better or worse that they seemed like they were going to be equally if not worse of a fuck up than he was. He was just going to have to live through the same shit he did when he was living. This was bullsh-

A gun shot rang out through the cavern.

Were they being shot at now? He was going to be pissed off if this guy died the same way he did. He literally just had to deal with it, and a second time didn’t seem like it would be any more pleasant than the first time.

Their gaze was cast upward to a falling mass with an ugly Halloween mask.

Was… Was that him? Was that his body right now falling from the sky at the body he was trapped in?

He was falling too fast for his prison of a new body to respond and they were struck by his limp and lifeless body. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to feel pain in this body, but now he was sure. He could feel his body being crushed and it felt like he was dying all over again. Except this time it felt like his chest had collapsed and his jaw had been shattered.

He couldn’t even scream as everything seemed to have gone completely black once more.

It seemed that death didn’t even want him, as once more he had been woken from what he was going to assume was an eternal slumber. Everything felt hazy, as his eyes had a hard time focusing from the splitting headache. The headache was no doubt from the bullet hole that was in his head. But who ever had found him had to be really pale and bald, because he could’ve sworn that he was perfectly white.

“OH MY GOD! SIR! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! CAN YOU HEAR ME?! WHAT HAPPENED?!” The loud voice from before asked him as his bony hand touched his shoulder. Geez this guy had to be thin. But somehow he had powerful lungs despite all this. He could still feel his voice booming through him. He couldn’t help but groan.

“i don’t…. my head is killing me…” He managed out. He wasn’t even sure how. The pain in his head was so intense that it felt like he was being strangled.

“YOU JUST STICK WITH ME, OKAY? DON’T YOU FALL ON ME, YOUNG BONES. WE’LL GET YOU SOME HELP!” Once more he yelled, and he felt his voice through him. And then he was picked up by him. Even if he didn’t want to be touched, he didn’t have the strength to fight back. He barely had the strength to question the oddity of him being called “young bones”.

But it wasn’t as rough as he had been expecting. It was actually surprisingly gentle. For as little volume control this guy seemed to have, he was a very gentle man. It was a nice turn of events, but he couldn’t help but be suspicious of this. No one was just nice to him. He had a reputation, and not a very good one. Even people who were known for being nice could care less about him, yet here he was at death’s door and this guy was carrying him to who knows where. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too heart broken when he was told that there were no vacancies free for him, despite the bullet wound in his head.

He continued to talk to him, but it was all lost and muddled. It was hard to stay conscious with a hole in his head that just screamed at him to just close his eyes and sleep. He had lost consciousness a few times, and his vision hadn’t cleared up in the slightest. They just couldn’t seem to focus. But despite all this, he could’ve sworn he saw magma. Where the hell was he?

It seemed like just a blink had passed, but they had gone from magma and redish brown scenery, to a lot of white buildings. It did nothing to soothe his headache, and it almost made him long for the dump in which he fell. It may have stunk, but at least it would have made his last few moments bearable.

But another blink had him lying in bed and staring up at the ceiling. Oddly enough his headache was subsiding, and he could focus his eyes again. He’d ignore the strange warm feeling in his chest for the time being, as it wasn’t a bad strange, it was just an unplaceable strange. The room from what he could see was already a lot nicer than his apartment. So despite being found at the dump, the man who saved him was at least more well off than he had been.

But there was something odd about all this. The walls had a faint green tinge to them. Looking around, he had seen the fact that the light wasn’t on. And around the room, he couldn’t see the source of it. Well, until something had caught his eye when he was looking around the room.

Giant glowing green bones were currently protruding out of his chest and stomach. They didn’t hurt, but they scared the shit out of him. They also didn’t move when he tried to jerk away from them. They stayed completely in place as he moved. His skin didn’t tear, and he had to wonder if he actually did die, and that if he was a ghost. It would make sense, but he’d still be upset about not getting to stay dead for what he was going to say time number four.

“OH! YOU’RE AWAKE! ARE YOU FEELING ANY BETTER? THE HOLE SEEMS TO BE ALL PATCHED UP. IT WAS A PRETTY NASTY HOLE. WHAT HAPPENED?” His attention went from the bones that seemed completely unbothered by him moving around, to what he was expecting to be a pale bald man.

But it was not a pale bald man. He was instead greeted by a skeleton. A really happy skeleton, but a skeleton. He wasn’t exactly sure, but he was pretty sure that this was the grim reaper. All of this up until now was just some weird dream, or him getting used to being dead, or something like that. It kinda made sense, but that might’ve just been the injury to his brain talking.

It didn’t stop him from screaming at the sight of him though. In response, the skeleton also screamed, startled by the sudden screaming.

“WHAT’S THE MATTER? IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT?! I HAVEN’T HURT YOU HAVE I? PERHAPS I SHOULD WORK ON MY MAGIC A BIT MORE BEFORE I CARRY ON.” The bones quickly disappeared and the warm sensation went with it.

“i have no idea what’s going on right now. who are you, what are you, and what’s going on right now?” Despite being shot in the head what felt like mere minutes ago, he felt a lot better. This might just be adrenaline talking, but he also felt a fair bit stronger. But no matter how nice this skeleton was, some form of trickery was happening, and he wanted answers.

“WELL, I, AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS. A VERY HANDSOME SKELETON, AND FUTURE MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GURADS. I FOUND YOU AT THE DUMP AND I WAS WORRIED THAT SOMETHING HAD HAPPENED TO YOU, BECAUSE THERE WAS A BANG, AND THEN A LOUD THUD, AND THEN I FOUND YOU LAYING IN DUST. THANKFULLY I GOT YOU HERE IN TIME. WE ARE PRESENTLY AT MY HOUSE, AND YOU HAVE BEEN SLEEPING FOR A WEEK NOW. DO YOU REMEMBER ANYTHING ABOUT YOURSELF? BECAUSE THAT WAS ONE DOOSY OF A HOLE IN YOUR HEAD. I WAS GETTING WORRIED THAT MY MAGIC MAY NOT’VE BEEN ENOUGH.” The actual skeleton informed. So he was out for a whole week? And he had taken care of him the entire time? Why? Magic or not, it probably wasn’t easy. He must’ve expected something in exchange.

“look, I don’t have anything to give you. i’m flat broke and I don’t think my soul’s that appealing enough to have been worth all this effort, so i’ll just be out of your hair- er… i’ll just leave you alone now. sorry for the trouble.” He got up, only to be gently put back onto the bed.

“YOU’RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE UNTIL YOU’RE ALL BETTER. DO YOU HAVE ANY FAMILY I COULD CONTACT, PERHAPS? I’M SURE THEY’RE WORRIED ABOUT YOU.” It was almost laughable to think that. He hadn’t heard from them in years. They didn’t give a fuck about him.

“nah, don’t think I do.”

“AH, WELL… FRIENDS, NEIGHBOURS? A FRIENDLY COWORKER?”

“nope.”

“… A PLACE TO GO BACK TO?”

“probably not.” After all, they did shoot him, and he was probably dead anyways. He was probably talking to the Grim Reaper right now. Though it was odd to think of him that way, as he presently looked like he was about to cry.

“WELL, YOU COULD ALWAYS STAY HERE. I HAVE A GUEST BED ROOM THAT YOU CAN HAVE. YOU CAN STAY HERE AS LONG AS YOU WANT.” Was Death offering him a guest bedroom right now? Was that honestly a thing that was happening?

“i don’t really wanna be a bother.”

“NONESENSE. IF YOU NEED A PLACE TO STAY, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GLADLY HAVE YOU IN MY HOME. I’VE ALWAYS WANTED A ROOM MATE!” He had never seen anyone so excited to be with him before. This was weird. He felt… happy? Papyrus had a really contagious smile. And really if he was planning something, it didn’t really matter.

“alright, i guess if you really are okay with all this.”

“OF COURSE I AM! OH! BUT WHAT’S YOUR NAME? IT SEEMS A RUDE OF ME TO JUST CALL YOU YOUNG BONES ALL THE TIME.” His name? Fuck. He did have one, but what if he heard it, and connected the dots? It was a pretty common name, but it might be just better to lie.

“…i … i can’t remember.”

“OH, WELL NOW THAT’S A PROBLEM. IF IT’S NOT TOO MUCH TROUBLE, PERHAPS I MAY HELP YOU COME UP WITH A NAME IN THE MEANTIME? TO USE UNTIL YOU REMEMBER YOU NAME.”

“alright. sounds alright with me.”

“WELL, SINCE NO ORDINARY MONSTER COULD TAKE A FALL LIKE YOU DID WITH AN INJURY LIKE THAT, AND THEN SURVIVE A WHOLE WEEK AND THEN WAKE UP, YOU’RE LIKE A SUPER HERO OR SOMETHING. SO I’M GOING TO SUGGEST THE NAME COMIC SANS. BECAUSE YOU READ ABOUT SUPER HEROS IN COMICS ALL THE TIME. IT’S THE PERFECT NAME!”

“what do you mean, a fall like that?” It was probably the wrong question for him to ask immediately, but whatever.

“YOU MUST’VE FALLEN OFF THE BRIDGE UP THERE. BECAUSE I DIDN’T SEE WHERE ELSE YOU COULD’VE FALLEN FROM THAT WOULD’VE MADE A SOUND LIKE THAT.” He didn’t know what bridge he was talking about, but he’d just accept it. It’d be better if he thought he was from around here, and that way, even if he did find out about his real name, he wouldn’t even know he was that Sam.

“makes sense I guess. comic sans feels a bit long though. how bout just sans?”

“PERFECT. THE GREAT PAPYRUS AND THE SANSATIONAL SANS! WE’LL MAKE AN EXCELLENT TEAM! NYEH HEH HEH!” He couldn’t exactly remember the last time that he felt someone be so genuinely excited to see him. It made him feel… really good. Maybe a little guilty for lying to him, but it was the only way that this was going to work.

“heh, yeah we are.”

“NOW GET SOME REST! YOU STILL AREN’T BETTER YET. WE’LL TALK ABOUT THIS MORE TOMORROW.” It was weird getting tucked in by a skeleton, but today had been a lot of weird. Or rather every minute he could remember since getting shot was weird. He had a feeling that he’d be dealing with a lot more weirdness from now on, but that might not be such a bad thing. If it meant feeling happy like this more often, then he was perfectly fine with this.


	3. Chapter 3

Despite how unnerving the fact that he had narrowly avoided death, lost a week of his life, had glowing green bones protruding from his chest, and then was offered a place to live from a skeleton of all things, “Sans” had managed to fall asleep. Somehow being out cold for a week wasn’t enough sleep for him, and his body just craved more. It wasn’t really that uncommon a practice for him. If something was wrong, you just slept it off and it’d probably go away. Doctors weren’t really an option because more often than not they lived far enough to be too much of a hassle for him to bother with.

Hospitals were even further out of the question, as that mean that he’d have to go even further and get prescribed pills he couldn’t afford. Really it was a waste of time for everyone involved. All he really needed for most of what ailed him was sleep. He’d wake up and be somewhere horrendous, or he simply wouldn’t wake up at all. The latter sounded more preferable right now.

 Because if he was going to wake up anywhere right now and have it be believable, he’d be at the bottom of whatever ravine he had been pushed into, pleading for death as a mangled mess of flesh until he finally bled out, or died of thirst or starvation, or was eaten alive by some junkyard dog or something.  He had made his peace, and all of what he had seen were hallucinations or some sort of fucked up dream. All he wanted to do was to get this over with.

Eventually he opened his eyes again. There wasn’t really any way to tell what time it was, because as far as he could tell, there was no window and the lights were off. It was dark, but it wasn’t pitch black. It seemed as though his experience with this bullshit was not yet finished.

A figure sat on the bed. Maybe it was that Papyrus guy. He had to be showing his true nature now. He must’ve been waiting for the right time to come harvest his organs to sell. Lord knows he wasn’t meant for labor and was overall unattractive. His organs were probably the only thing of use he had to offer.

He had come to terms with his own demise, but for some reason, he felt scared? His life seemed to never end, and it only brought more and more pain, and he had lost track of what was real and what wasn’t. A tight feeling took hold of his chest, but a scream didn’t come. Not even when the figure looked at him with empty eye sockets that seemed to judge him even though he hadn’t thought he had done anything that hadn’t already dealt with the punishment of.

“You….” The unfamiliar voice echoed, seemingly in his head, as its eye sockets felt like they had narrowed onto his soul.

He attempted a response, but words died in his throat and piled up, making it harder to swallow. Nothing on the skeleton moved, but regardless, it drew closer. More and more detail came to it. He wasn’t quite sure if skeletons could look angry, but this one seemed to anyways. Who knew a skeleton could be so expressive.

“It’s all your fault. I could’ve gotten away with it. But then YOU fell. YOU ruined everything.” It hissed, now looming over him. He was sure he could feel the cold breath, of what he was assuming was death, on his face.

He still couldn’t do anything. Nothing but look on in horror as the skull was pressed against his face, and all at once he could feel where the bullet had pass though burn, and he felt like his chest was collapsing in on itself. Hands would’ve gone up to his chest to grab it in an attempt to maybe pull air into his lungs that way, but his hands wouldn’t move from his side. His whole body refused to move despite everything in his body screamed for him to run. He gasped for air that would not come.

But still the merciless skeleton continued.

“If you would’ve just given up your soul like a good human, we wouldn’t be in this mess. But now we’re here, because of some stupid human trick. You somehow absorbed my soul instead. Another useless human that will no doubt bring our ruination with you ways. Your soul is useless to us now that you’ve absorbed a monster soul.” He wasn’t sure if that was exactly what he said, but regardless, it didn’t make a lick of sense for him.

Though it’s hard to actually understand much when you’re being suffocated by an unseen force. But something was heard that was crystal clear before his world faded to black once more.

“You should’ve just stayed dead.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------

He sat up with violently gasps for air. His whole body was shaking and ached and he was drenched in a cold sweat. The pain from what felt like moments ago was gone, but the events of what transpired was still fresh in his mind. He looked down at his hand on chest. And then he looked at the blanket that was on his lap now, and then around the room that was better lit than the one from his dream.

He jumped at the sight of the skeleton who was knelt down next to the bed he was in. It took a full moment for him to register the expression on the skeleton’s face. It wasn’t one or judgement and hatred like the skeleton he saw but moments ago. It was full of concern and worry. His face also seemed to be a different face shape if that made sense. He hadn’t really thought much about how skulls looked until now, but Papyrus almost seemed more rectangular?

“SANS? SANS IT’S ME, PAPYRUS. YOU’RE SAFE NOW I PROMISE. I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU SAW, BUT IT WAS JUST A DREAM.” He said, holding his hands out carefully to him. His hands gently touched his knee. He flinched, expecting a more hostile touch. But understanding boundaries, Papyrus pulled his hand back.

He wanted to say something, but he just didn’t have enough breath in him to say anything. Instead he wheezed as air could finally reach his lungs. The look Papyrus gave him made he feel almost bad. But the look of a kicked puppy the skeleton somehow managed to pull off was short lived.

“SANS. I THINK I MIGHT KNOW HOW TO MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER, BUT I’LL NEED TO PICK YOU UP. I PROMISE I’LL BE GENTLE. JUST NOD IF ITS ALRIGHT.”

He was a little more hesitant than he felt he should, but at the same time he had no idea what he had planned. That just felt wrong. Part of him screamed that he shouldn’t trust him, because no one was nice without wanting something in return. And usually it was something that he couldn’t afford, and he either got kicked out immediately, or was hunted down until he was shot in the head and left for dead.

But he nodded. And this seemed to please the skeleton with unclear motives. He wasn’t sure if this meant good things for him or something terrible. But Papyrus gently scooped him up, and the size difference was made more evident. It was so gentle, and he was still ready for him to be carried like a sack of potatoes, or just drug.

He could feel something as he was in Papyrus’s arms. It felt like a heartbeat, but it also felt almost like breathing. But it felt like both were all in one. He couldn’t actually put his fingers on it, but breathing and a heartbeat were the closest thing he could compare it to.  Whatever it was, it was oddly soothing. He still wasn’t sure if he was awake or not, but he was fine with whatever it was he was feeling right now.

Papyrus’s plan didn’t seem to stop there, as he carried him out of the room. Dread took hold of him as he saw what he thought was the front door. This was it. He was getting kicked out because Papyrus had finally had enough of him and has decided that he was no longer of any use. He knew that this was too good to last.

But that wasn’t what happened. As instead he passed the front door and carried him into the kitchen, sitting him down at the table. Once he was down, Papyrus proudly put his hands on his hips.

“NOW! I SHALL PREPARE FOR YOU MY FAMOUS HOT COCOA. A SURE FIRE WAY TO CHASE AWAY NIGHTMARES.” He declared before he busied himself in the kitchen. Faint “Nyeh heh heh”s could be heard as he cooked. It was oddly interesting to watch. He couldn’t say he was very interested in cooking, but he had to watch just in case anything weird was added. The doubt in the back of his head still screamed that the betrayal was coming. He simply could not ignore it.

He watched, but nothing out of the ordinary was added. He was pretty sure cinnamon was thrown in there, and that might not’ve been supposed to be there. But on the other hand, it wasn’t impossible that it was. “Sans” wasn’t all that familiar with the drink. Papyrus seemed to be pleased to cook, and he had to wonder if there were jobs down here like there were on the surface, or if Papyrus was just a rare case. Or was just lying to him but building his trust.

The cup was presented to him, and Papyrus was beaming with pride. His eye sockets were on him as he waited for him to take a sip. He had watched him make it, but still his mind screamed with doubt of the safety of the drink. The voice was once more ignored, as he took a sip.

It was hot, but somehow he didn’t feel it burn his tongue. It had a nice flavour though. His glance shifted over to Papyrus, who had been waiting on an answer on whether or not he liked it or not.

“ ‘s good.” His voice was horse, but he could still manage to speak. It wasn’t a lot that he said, but judging by the soft squealy sound that Papyrus made, it made him really happy. But he quickly caught himself, and cleared his throught.

“I MEAN. EXCELLENT. A LOT OF MONSTERS CAN MAKE HOT COCOA, BUT NONE MATCH MINE, AS MINE IS MADE WITH GREAT PASSION! AND CINNAMON!” He wasn’t yet sure what to make of this Papyrus. On one hand, it was still really odd to just casually talk to a skeleton, and it was equally weird that he still wasn’t sure what he wanted from him yet. His niceness had to have a reason, and a goal of some sort. No one just did things for the benefit of others.

“SO… UH…” He grew suspicious of the change of tone, as suddenly the skeleton seemed to almost grow nervous.

“WHAT WAS YOUR DREAM ABOUT? I KNOW IT MUST NOT’VE BEEN A PLEASANT ONE, BUT IT MIGHT BE A CLUE AS TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM.” He paused for a moment. “NOT THAT I DON’T WANT YOU HERE. BECAUSE I DO. BUT THERE’S PROBABLY SOMEONE OUT THERE THAT CARES FOR YOU AND WANTS TO MAKE SURE YOU’RE ALIVE AND OKAY. I KNOW YOU SAID THAT YOU HAD NO ONE TO RETURN TO, BUT SURELY THERE MUST BE SOMEONE. YOU MUST NOT REMEMBER BECAUSE OF THE FALL… Right?”

It was a little jarring to hear his tone shift so drastically near the end there. It almost sounded like he felt bad for him, despite knowing nothing about him. What was his end goal here?

“i… fuck… i can’t even remember it now. i don’t know what happened, but it was really awful.” He couldn’t believe that he couldn’t remember it. It was so vivid and it felt like it was actually happening. How could he have just forgotten something like that so fast? Maybe it was something in his drink, maybe it was a result of the brain damage he no doubt suffered. He had heard a small gasp after he swore. He had a feeling that this must’ve been one of those households. But it seemed as though Papyrus would spare him this time at least.

“WELL I CAN PROMISE YOU THAT I WILL NEVER HURT YOU, SANS. AND THAT AS A FUTURE MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL KEEP YOU SAFE FROM ANY AND ALL THAT SEEK TO DO YOU HARM.” Though he doubted him, he still felt like he could believe him.

It was like his brain was at war with itself over this enigma of a being. He couldn’t just be nice, but he seemed so nice. But he had said that about the guy he borrowed the money from, and then when he couldn’t pay him back, he eventually ended up getting shot in the head by his goons. It was for a different reason all together that he got shot, but they were under his orders. He had heard that while he was passing out after they ambushed him when he was coming out of his apartment.

“AND EVEN WHEN YOU GET YOUR MEMORY BACK, YOU STILL HAVE A PLACE TO STAY HERE IF YOU WANT.” A memory that had never left, despite how much he’d rather be completely confused about his identity and not just having to lie about everything.

“heh… thanks papyrus.”

“IT IS NO PROBLEM, SANS. WHAT ELSE ARE FRIENDS FOR?” It felt weird to have him call them friends, but it also made him feel… warm inside. Maybe it was just the cocoa.

But now that he thought about it…

How was he drinking cocoa through his mask?


	4. Chapter 4

He had been awake in this house for a few hours now, and now that he was well enough to stand and roam around, Papyrus had deemed him well enough to be on his own for a few hours while he went out to get more groceries. It was really quite amazing that he had lasted that long without going to get food, and he had to wonder how exactly he fed him all that time. He still had a lot of questions about his new situation, but in all honesty, he felt like a lot of the ones that he had were better off not being asked. It was probably better that way, and the details were probably really gross so he didn’t actually want to know.

But some of the things that he had seen while looking around, was that some of his possessions looked to be rather expensive. Maybe that was why he could afford such a superfluous amount of groceries in his house, and how he could just get this much time off on such short notice. He had to be some wealthy son of a millionaire, or was a millionaire and then died and stayed a millionaire as a skeleton. It was equally as likely that he had made his fortune off of people like him that he had just found and just lead them astray with promises of safety and no other plans, but then the moment that their guard is down, he starts billing them through the ass and sends people after him to make sure that his good deed didn’t go unpaid. It was the only way he could make sense of something like this. He was no doubt going to end up betrayed in some way, and then get shot again, and there wouldn’t be a seemingly nice skeleton to bring him back from the brink of death this time. He’d just be dead and that would be it.

Unless of course he was going to be stuck forever in an endless loop of suffering where he’d die over and over and over again by people that he trusts. Considering all the things he’s seen up until this point, it wouldn’t be surprising. It’s not like he really had anything to lose if that were the case. He’d probably become numb to it if that were the case.

Some of the things in this house he was pretty sure he had seen before in the display case of windows in stores that he was stumbling by. They were all very pricy if he remembered correctly. He didn’t even know how bad his debt was at this point, but maybe if he could take enough things from here and make a mad dash for it while Papyrus was out, he could pay it back and maybe even have enough to start a new life and actually do something. He could probably find a way back up to where he was, and maybe bribe some garbage truck driver to give him a lift back to town.

He didn’t feel like complete garbage anymore, at least on a physical level, so he could probably get far enough away before he caught on and chased him down. He may have spent a lot of his life getting shitfaced at bars, but after all he’s been told about what his drunk self can and has done, he could probably manage at least a little bit sober.

If he hadn’t known for a fact that Papyrus was going to without a single doubt betray him, “Sans” would’ve almost felt bad for what he was doing. The skeleton had seemed like such a nice guy, but no one was just nice in this world. There was just no room for that. The moment you showed weakness, everyone just used you. It was just how things were. He was glad that he didn’t really tell him much about himself. The fact that there was no one waiting for him made him an easy target, but that was then, who knows what his life will be like after this. He was going to pay his debt, and then life was going to get so much better for him. He couldn’t wait to see where he’d end up after here.

He paid little attention to what he grabbed. Anything that he could carry in his shirt and inventory, he took. He was robbing this skeleton blind, but he knew that if the positions were switched, Papyrus would no doubt do the same thing. Anyone would. He needed money, and Papyrus had money, and by the looks of it, he had tons to spare. It didn’t matter if he took anything. It would probably be replaced as soon as he sees it’s missing. They were probably never going to see each other again, because he had no real tracks to leave behind. It was going to be a perfect crime, and he was going to be out of there before he even noticed.

With his stolen goods in hand, he bolted out of the house, and ran down the surprisingly white city. He had to find somewhere that would accept all this stuff and fast. Time was really not on his side, because who knew how long it was going to take for him to get back and notice that a lot of his stuff was gone. And if that were to happen, he’d be dead in an instant. He wasn’t even sure why he cared or not if he made it. His life had been completely worthless up until this point, and he had come to terms with the fact that he was going to die. So why did he care so much now? Was it this little shred of hope that he had now that he had the possibility of making money that he needed so he could maybe start over again?

His sprint had slowed to a jog, and then to a walk, and then to a complete stop. Why did he even wanna go back there? Sure the people didn’t even bother pretending to care about his wellbeing, but it meant that they were more to the point. They weren’t hiding anything from him. Here he was being treated nicely, but there had to be some sort of goal behind this. No one could be just nice for the sake of being nice. Everyone had some sort of angle that they were working. Even if they seemed really genuine.

He sighed, looking down at his ill-gotten loot in his shirt. And now that he actually looked at it, this was not the same shirt he was wearing. These clothes were not the ones that he was wearing before. These ones seemed much nicer and certainly a hell of a lot cleaner than the ones he was wearing before. He felt a pang of guilt in his chest. This shouldn’t have mattered to him, but somehow, this really did. Taking care of him was one thing, but he had just given him clothes to wear, and he knew that he couldn’t pay him back.

But there had to be some other goal here, but he seemed so sincere at the same time. It was a decision that he had to sit down to make, because this was going to take a lot of effort. This was a completely different situation to the one that he’s been used to. How in the hell was he supposed to know what to do. Because it felt like his mind was split in two and they were both screaming at each other. Because part of him felt like he could trust him, despite not knowing anything about him, but the rest screamed for him to be reasonable, because trust had gotten him in debt and shot.

He had no idea how much time had passed before he had gotten up and started to walk back. The guilt was simply too much for him to deal with, and this was all so weird, because he hadn’t felt bad for someone like this in years. Though he had to actually work up courage to open the door, because he was actually worried about what the response he was going to get was. Papyrus was a really nice guy, but everyone had their limits. He seriously doubted that he’d want him to keep living with him after this. It was completely understandable.

His prospect of living there seemed to be getting even slimmer, as he heard shouting from the other side of the door. He could just as easily run, and have his new life, so why was he coming back. It didn’t make sense, yet here he was at the door, knocking as he kept his eye firmly shut as he braced for what was going to no doubt come. His heart was pounding in his chest, and he could faintly hear the loot in his shirt knocking against each other as he trembled.

The door opened, and he dared a glance up. Papyrus was not alone. There was what he was going to assume was a fish lady, who looked none too happy to see him, and Papyrus who seemed over the moon.

“SANS! YOU DIDN’T DO A THEFT! I’M SO PROUD OF YOU!” He beamed, pulling him into a hug. His whole body tensed at the contact, but the moment it registered as nonviolent, he relaxed a bit. But he had stolen from him. He was just an idiot who went back and returned everything. What the hell did he even mean that he didn’t?

“Papyrus! He did rob you! Just because he brought it back doesn’t change that he did it! He’s a criminal! Just let me take him in, it’s bad enough that everything about him is suspicious.” The fish woman yelled. It seemed as though Papyrus’s world views were not shared with all down here, and he knew that things were just going to get worse from here. He had no idea what the criminal system was like here. Monsters seemed to live similar lives, so maybe it’d just be jail time, but seeing as these two were close, he had a feeling that the odds of him facing execution were about as equal as jail time. Was he really going to have to spend so much time with one foot in the grave? He just wanted a for sure answer on this because it was driving him mad.

“YES, BUT HE BROUGHT IT ALL BACK! THAT MEANS HE’S SORRY! BESIDES! EVERYONE CAN BE GOOD IF THEY REALLY TRY. AND HE’S TRYING! I STILL BELIEVE IN HIM. JUST GIVE US ONE MORE CHANCE AND WE CAN PROVE THAT HE’S A GOOD GUY! RIGHT SANS?” Papyrus said, looking down at him for confirmation.

“i think i’ve caused enough trouble as it is. i know you mean well, but i did just try to rob you. i’ll just go with your friend and i’ll be out of your hair… so to speak.”

“IF YOU WERE GOING TO ROB ME, WHY DID YOU COME BACK?”

“i dunno, i felt bad about it so i-“

“SEE UNDYNE! HE ENDED UP MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE! HE CAN BE TRUSTED!” The fish lady gave a tired sigh.

“Fine. But I swear if he messes up like this again, his ass is dust. Now I have to get back to patrol, I’ll let you put away your groceries, nerd.” She said, moving past them and out the door, breaking out into a sprint to go back to patrolling where ever it was she was patrolling. Papyrus let go, and closed the door. His expression changed, and he knew that this wasn’t going to be good. At least he wasn’t going to be yelled at by two people, just the one.

“DON’T YOU RUN OFF LIKE THAT AGAIN, YOUNG BONES! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS ABOUT YOU? YOU DON’T KNOW THE AREA AND YOU’RE STILL RECOVERING! YOU COULD’VE GOTTEN HURT!” He was so ready for this to be about his belongings being stolen, but this wasn’t about that at all. This was about his wellbeing? He was genuinely confused.

“so you’re not mad about the whole ‘trying to rob you’ thing? not even a little?”

“I CAN ALWAYS GET MORE THINGS, BUT LIFE IS SOMETHING THAT CAN’T EASILY BE REPLACED. MY GREEN MAGIC MAY HAVE HELPED A LOT, BUT YOU’RE SOUL STILL FEELS WEAK. YOU ONLY JUST WOKE UP AFTER ALL THAT, SO YOU SHOULD STILL BE TAKING IT EASY FOR AT LEAST A FEW MORE DAYS. AND I DON’T WANT ANYMORE WANDERING OFF ON YOUR OWN UNTIL THEN.” His concerned rant lasted probably a solid ten more minutes. It didn’t come to a natural stop. He just stopped and stared at him for a moment.

“SANS… ARE YOU CRYING? I HADN’T MEANT TO UPSET YOU LIKE THIS. I WAS JUST VOICING MY CONCERN, WE COULD GO ON WALKS IF YOU WANT TO. I KNOW HOW TERRIBLE IT IS TO BE STUCK INSIDE ALL THE TIME.” Sans hadn’t even noticed until now that he was crying. It was odd, because he didn’t actually feel sad or upset. He felt happy? To think that someone would actually care about him in this way felt weird, but he couldn’t stop smiling, even if his mask made it look like it anyways.

“don’t worry about it, man. i’m just… i’m just really happy right now is all.”

“HAPPY? BUT WHY WOULD YOU-“ There was a pause as Sans’s situation fully made itself clear to him. He watched as concern turned to distress. “I’M… I’M SO SORRY ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE HAD TO DEAL WITH SO FAR, BUT I CAN PROMISE YOU IT’S OVER. JUST AS I SHALL GUARD YOU AS YOU SLEEP, I  SHALL ALSO TAKE CARE OF YOU AS YOU’RE AWAKE. BECAUSE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM AN EXCELLENT FRIEND TO ALL, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN NEED.”

“heh…. thanks, papyrus. you’re the coolest.”

“THANK YOU, SANS. NOW LETS PUT EVERYTHING BACK SO THEY’RE NOT CLUTTERING UP YOUR INVENTORY.”


	5. Chapter 5

 

 

He still had no idea why he had done that. It was stupid. He could’ve had his money, and then gone out and lived the rest of his stupid life and that wouldn’t have been a problem. Yet he couldn’t steal from one skeleton. And he thought that he would without a doubt be alright with this, because a skeleton wasn’t even the same thing as him, it was like a dead body, but really old, and no one cared about you when you’re dead. Corpses were gross, and seeing bones were unsettling, because it usually meant that bad things were coming.

He had been awake for only a couple hours, but he was pretty sure this was actually happening. There had been a fish woman there not long before, so it wasn’t just skeletons that were living around here. He didn’t know what that meant for him, but he had a strange feeling that he was suddenly a minority here. Because obviously life wasn’t hard enough for him as it was. That was just great news.

And for some strange reason, he couldn’t help but feel that this was better. It was probably because he could just simply fake amnesia, and then he could just start over. It wasn’t like Papyrus didn’t think that he wasn’t a skeleton. He kept calling him young bones, so that meant that he obviously thought he was a skeleton too. His disguise probably wasn’t going to fool a lot of these monsters, but Papyrus was naïve, so at least for the time being, that helped him out.

So now he was back to no money, no education, and believed to be a skeleton. It wasn’t exactly the best situation to be in, but it was better than crippling debt, no education, and believed to be street trash. Slowly but surely he was rising the ranks in the world, and by the time he was ninety, who knows, he could be a functioning member of society. Just in time for him to die.

That was a joke. He probably wasn’t going to make it to be that old. He was in his early twenties and already he was shot in the head and pushed into a chasm. Who knew what other attempts were going to be had on his life. He still wasn’t completely sure that the skeleton that he was currently watching very carefully as he cooked wasn’t also out to get him.

It was very interesting to watch him cook though. He had never really seen anyone cook, aside from watching minimum wage workers run around in the visible part of the restaurant as they hastily threw together burgers. While on the other hand, Papyrus took great care in the meal that he was making. He put a lot of love and care into the dish, and everything he did was done with great enthusiasm. It wasn’t rushed, but it wasn’t slow either.

“so do you cook as a living?” He couldn’t help but ask, the words falling out of his mask before he could stop them.

“NOPE, BUT I AM AN EXCELLENT CHEF. UNDYNE IS SHOWING ME HOW TO COOK AS PART OF MY TRAINING. SHE SAYS THAT MY COOKING IS VERY PASSIONATE AND PROMISING!” He boasted, his features lighting up, despite him not having any real features that he would say could light up. It was very strange how he could do that despite everything that seemed to say that he couldn’t. He wasn’t even sure what had brought him to that conclusion.

“so what kind of training are you even doing? You gonna be a cop or something?” And in all honesty, he hoped the answer was no. He had never really gotten along well with the cops, and he was considered to be often drunk and disorderly, but despite everything, he was somehow never properly arrested. Just dumped at home after no one came and got him in that overnight cell that he was probably more acquainted with then he should.

“OH! UNDYNE’S TRAINING ME TO BE ONE OF THE ROYAL GUARDS. AT FIRST SHE SAID SHE WOULDN’T DO IT, BUT THEN I WAITED ALL NIGHT OUTSIDE OF HER DOOR, AND THEN SHE SAID THAT SHE WOULD CONSIDER DOING IT! AND NOW WE TRAIN AND COOK OFTEN! IT’S VERY EXCITING! ONE DAY I’M GOING TO JOIN, AND IT’S GOING TO BE AMAZING SANS!” He wasn’t exactly sure what a royal guard did, but it didn’t exactly scream “not cop” to him. And that just wasn’t very good news for him at all.

“what’s a royal guard even do?”

“WELL, A ROYAL GUARD DOES MANY THINGS. WE KEEP THE ORDER, HELP THE LOST, BUILD PUZZLES, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, A ROYAL GUARD CAPTURES ANY HUMAN THAT FALLS UNDERGROUND AND TAKES THEM TO THE KING SO THAT HE CAN TAKE THEIR SOUL SO HE CAN ABSORB THEM AND BREAK THE BARRIER! IT’S A VERY EXCITING JOB! ONCE YOU’RE FULLY RECOVERED, YOU SHOULD JOIN TOO! IT’LL BE GREAT, SANS!” And the thing that he had been dreading the most happened. The one catch to his happiness had finally showed its head. His position here wasn’t as much a minority, as it was a walking target.

It was very comforting to know that his gut instinct was right, but at the same time, he wasn’t exactly completely thrilled with the fact either. Despite all the people that he had met that seemed to do just fine without one, he doubted that a soul was something that could be taken without it ending up in his death.

“what’s the barrier?”

“WOWIE, THAT MUST’VE BEEN ONE HECK OF A FALL. THE BARRIER IS WHAT’S KEEPING ALL US MONSTERS UNDERGROUND. IT’S BEEN UP FOR CENTURIES NOW. WE JUST NEED ONE MORE SOUL, AND THEN WE’LL HAVE SEVEN HUMAN SOULS, AND THEN KING ASGORE CAN ABSORB THEM, AND THEN HE’S GOING TO BREAK THE BARRIER, AND THEN WE’LL ALL GO FREE.”

Wow… now that was some pressure being put on him, even if Papyrus didn’t know it. To think all that they needed now was one more soul, and then he could just let them all go. He had so much power, and yet he could just as easily lie, and they’d be stuck down here until another human were to fall. It was a lot to think about. For once in his life, things were starting to look up, but at the same time, now that he had been just told that his life could be used to give freedom to all these strangers, but also to someone like Papyrus, who was just in general a really nice guy, who probably deserved freedom more than he himself deserved to live.

But at the same time, it seemed pointless to have let Papyrus put so much effort into saving his life, only to have his throw it away like that. He didn’t really know what he did while he was unconscious, but it most certainly wasn’t nothing that he did for him, because gunshot wounds to the head don’t just go away on their own like that. It took a lot of effort.

“SANS? IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT? YOU SEEM MORE QUIET THAN USUAL. YOU HAVEN’T FALLEN BACK ASLEEP, HAVE YOU?”

“no, no… i’m fine. i’m just… thinking.” Because that wasn’t really suspicious at all. He’s probably already raised a few red flags to the skeleton by acting like this, and he couldn’t really blame him. He had been nothing but suspicious since he had woken up, and Papyrus continued to be patient and trusting despite all this. And he really wished that someone else had found him, because he just felt awful burdening someone like Papyrus like this. And that was a thought that he was going to keep to himself, because that would no doubt get him a scolding from him.

“SANS…I CAN’T IMAGINE THAT IT’S EASY TO WAKE UP WITH NO MEMORIES OF ANYTHING, AND THEN ADDING ONTO THOSE MEMORIES FINDING OUT THAT YOU WERE ASLEEP FOR A WEEK, AND THAT YOU’RE STUCK SOMEWHERE WITH VERY LITTLE TO EXPLORE COMPARED TO WHAT YOU COULD’VE HAD. I IMAGINE IT’S LONELY AND RATHER SCARY. BUT I PROMISE YOU, THAT I’M GOING TO BE HERE WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY ON YOUR ROAD TO RECOVERY. AND EVEN IF YOU NEVER GET YOUR MEMORIES BACK, THEN WE’LL JUST MAKE NEW AND GREAT MEMORIES. AND I’M SURE THAT ONE DAY SOON, A HUMAN WILL FALL TO THE UNDERGROUND, AND THEN WE’LL BE ABLE TO SEE THE SURFACE. I’VE HEARD THAT THE SUN IS RATHER IMPRESSIVE. IT’S AN EXCITING THING TO THINK ABOUT. AND THEN ONCE WE REACH THE SURFACE, WE’LL HAVE MANY MORE COOL ADVENTURES UP THERE. SO DON’T LOSE HOPE.” Papyrus encouraged, leaving his cooking to put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

And once again Papyrus mentioned capturing a human, and bringing up the fact that they’ve never seen the sun. It felt like such a trivial fact to him, but he had seen the sun almost every day of his life, and it seemed like nothing. And here was Papyrus talking about the sun as if it were some secret treasure that he was excited about seeing. It made him feel just absolutely awful about all this.

“thanks, pap. if it’s all the same to you, I think i’m gonna go lay down for a bit. i’m not all that hungry, and i think i’d rather just have a nap right now. sorry you put all that work into cooking already.”

“OH, I DON’T MIND AT ALL. YOU’VE BEEN AWAKE LONGER THAN YOU HAVE THE ENTIRE TIME I’VE KNOWN YOU! YOU’VE MADE GREAT PROGRESS SO FAR. I’LL PUT YOUR FOOD UP SO THAT YOU CAN ENJOY IT LATER! AND I CAN PROMISE YOU THAT YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED IN THE GREAT PAPYRUS’S COOKING SKILLS. MY SPAGHETTI IS MATCHED BY NONE!” He boasted, and then soon followed it with a “NYEH HEH HEH!”

Papyrus was a colourful character to say the least, and that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. He hadn’t been awake very long, but he felt like he needed to just sleep on the new information that had been handed to him.

Once he was in the room, he got in the bed. He couldn’t help but feel as though the bed felt a little too plain for someone like Papyrus. Especially since he was, all things considered, a really cool guy. It wasn’t really every day that someone just takes in strangers and nurses them back to health. And that bed felt like it almost wasn’t deserving of belonging to someone like him. It still felt like it was more than he himself deserved, but he had a feeling that if he fell asleep anywhere else, he’d just end up right back there. He had no real proof for his claim, but it was more of a funny feeling. Papyrus was pretty dead set on taking the best possible care of him, so he thought that he’d at least make it easy by being a cooperative patient.

His mind found it hard to find rest as he processed this new information, casting out thought about how plain the bed was. Now he had to consider his choices of either willing walk to his death, or live a life of lies until he messed up and was busted. These choices both were equally as terrible, but only one thing seemed like the right thing to do.

He had already come to terms with his death once, and he had pleaded for it to take him a few times already, but that was before. Now things were starting to look up, and he had the possibility for a future. But at the same time if he died, he could actually do something meaningful and not have to worry about the uncertainty that seemed to cloud his life all the time. He would know for a fact that he made a difference to a lot of people, and he wouldn’t just disappear without doing anything worth even mentioning. He’d be the guy that gave these monsters their freedom. And while he probably would be forgotten, he’s at least die knowing that he did something that mattered for once.

Thoughts rushed around his head at a million miles an hour, but despite all that, he was able to drift off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

In an unsurprising twist, he woke up to that skeleton over his bed. He had no idea who this was, but honestly he wished he’d just leave him alone. He would try to say that he had done nothing to deserve this, but really this was just fate catching up to him and drowning him in karma. He was an awful person and he had deserved every last bit of this bullshit that was going to haunt him for who knows how long.

But so long as all the karma stayed in his dreams, he could deal with having a bullshit night’s sleep. But this was probably a stress dream anyways. Just like when he was living on the surface and a new bill came in marked final notice, or a lacky from some loan shark came and told him his next payment was due Friday, or else. But not that instead of just getting shot in the head, his brain needed to come up with something worse, because he had already gone out and gotten his dumbass shot. There was no need to imagine what it was like given that now he knew.

But he was hoping it’d be something better than some shitty grim reaper knock off. How was he supposed to reap souls if he didn’t have any sort of scythe or some other bullshit to get his soul? Maybe his stupid brain was just trying to convince him that he was actually dead this whole time, and while that would be a great explanation as to what the fuck his life had turned into in the last however long he had been down here. It all felt like hit was fake enough to be some sort of fucked up dream. Considering the fucked up dreams he had had in the past, it didn’t seem too off the mark on this one either. It was just the right amount to fit right in with one of his.

“Now let me correct you on a few things there, my dear boy.” The skeleton snarked at him. “Now it’s quaint that you think there’s such thing as a grim reaper, it’s rather like seeing a child be afraid of what lurks in the shadows. And it’s quite comical that you think that anything that’s happened to you has been punishment enough.”

He leaned forward and tapped on his chest, prompting a yellow heart to phase out of him and hover right above his chest. He gave it a small tap, and it poured out memory upon memory of him cheating, lying, and stealing. So many that it flooded the room. It was really overwhelming to see just how indiscriminate he had been this whole time. It was really anyone he could get his hands on, wasn’t it. It was honestly a little sickening to think that someone like him was getting treated so well after all he had done. He hadn’t even thought about all of this, but being presented with it was overwhelming.

“It’s incredible what a human soul is capable of. While I may not be the one in control anymore, seeing as this is your body, it seems as though I am capable of borrowing your powers to examine souls, even if there is little I can do about it. And yours has been quite the interesting sight, my boy. To think a lowlife as yourself would manage to somehow scratch your way up to where you are now, uncaring of who you dragged down with you along the way. You truly are a sight to behold. A pathetic on, but something none the less.”

He just had to ignore him. This was just a dream, most of those didn’t even happen. He was going to wake up in Papyrus’s house for real, and just like that this stuck up bastard would disappear and he wouldn’t have to deal with him until the next time that he fell asleep. And even then who knows. He was just stressing out over the fact that he could easily just set them free right now, even if they were all probably fake.

“So you hope to wake up back to a dream? I knew you were uneducated, but I had assumed that you weren’t a total bumbling idiot. Do I need to use smaller words for you to comprehend? You cannot wake up from one dream to go back to another, you illiterate ape. And if that is just a dream, what will you awake to? Drowning in water or bleeding out at the bottom of a chasm? Honestly, you are a perfectly good waste of a human soul. Why are gifts like yours always bestowed upon dense fools like you? You haven’t even the slightest idea of the power of a soul. You can’t even use magic.”

He’s a lot chattier than the last time that the two of them had spoken, and he was honestly hoping that there was some way that he could turn that off. Because if so than that’d be great. He was sure that this was a dream, so maybe he could just lucid dream this fucker’s mouth shut. The even though he was going to have to deal with this bastard for who knows how long, at least it’d be more enjoyable.

“You really think you can be rid of me that easily? Humans may be stronger than monsters, but there’s nothing you can do that would just simply shut me up. You have nothing on me. You’ve spent no time bothering to skim through the details of my soul. And while you have been off playing bandit and then failing to follow through because you got cold feet, I have been spending my time locked in here with you going over every last detail of your miserable life. And might I say, you’re pretty quick to betray the one person who has ever shown to even remotely care about you. You’ve been so quick to throw away his efforts to save your miserable life. He doesn’t even know what a miserable wretch you are. A dense one at that. How long did it take you to realize that those weren’t your clothes?”

Maybe he could just force himself to wake up. That’d be much better than all of this. He didn’t want to talk to this lunatic any further. It was true that he had done a lot of awful things in the past, but he doubt it was ever this bad. This guy was actually the worst, and he was positive that he missed the creepy angry skeleton from before. At least he wasn’t dragging up things he’d rather forget.

“Nothing has changed, my boy. You still killed me, and if you hadn’t been so dense in your final hours on the surface, I would still be alive. Yet here I am because you could not keep your mouth shut and insisted on fighting people who rightfully didn’t care about your miserable little life and took you to the dump to shoot you. I would rather be dead right now than stuck with you, yet your hand manage to make contact with my soul before I could dust, and now I’m stuck here until your pathetic life comes to a close. I get to watch every one of your many mistakes, and I am merely your passenger forever because of your past choices. And neither of us are happy with that, now are we.”

He couldn’t say that he was, and he wasn’t exactly sure how he was continuing to read his mind like this, but he really wish that it would stop. Things were bad enough without him, even if things were finally starting to take a turn for the better. All of this was still awful, because he was living here despite being human and them needing one more soul to break the barrier and all of them going free. It didn’t seem fair to keep monsters like Papyrus down here, even if the surface was an awful place, and down here was so much better.

“So instead of letting the one person who keeps going out on a limb for you get to see the surface, you’re going to keep lying to him and keep him locked down here with the rest of them just because you messed up so badly that you turned your life on the surface into a living hell? Now is that anyway for you to repay kindness. I’d say that it’d be better for you to just get it over with and die like anyone with a shred of dignity. Do you really think you can fool him with the skeleton with amnesia bit forever? He’s not as stupid as you are. He’s bond to find out sooner or later. So are you going to turn yourself in, or are you going to put all of this on his head and force him to betray you. The choice is yours, Sam.”


	7. Chapter 7

While he wouldn’t say that this was the worst he felt waking up, but it certainly wasn’t one of the better. It wasn’t as if thinking something like this hadn’t been something he had considered ever in his life, but it was the first where (if the skeleton who wouldn’t leave him the fuck alone was to be trusted and assumed to be real at all) after the deed was done, he’d continue living on despite not being in control of anything that was happening. It was basically like signing up to live his life but without the illusion of choice because this time it would be one hundred percent not his choices.

On one hand, he’d be doing everyone a favor and he’d hopefully be rid of this asshole who didn’t seem to be leaving any time soon. Papyrus had said they’ve been trapped down there for centuries, and he could honestly believe it. If it had been anywhere in the last few decades, then there’d be a ton of people just killing people by throwing them into the pit, or even just getting rid of bodies that way. And if that was the case then they’d already be free and the whole killing pit thing would be useless. But aside from the whole murder pit thing, it probably also meant that a good portion of them had never seen the stars. He wasn’t sure if Papyrus even saw them, but he really hoped that he had. They were the one good thing about the surface.

And on the other hand, the surface really sucked, and there was no way that it’d live up to anyone’s expectations of it. It was fucking all trash from the things that humans up there stood for, for the scum that ran it. It was rotten all the way through, and he knew that I’d be no time before some lowlife was fucking using Papyrus for his own purposes and Papyrus would be too nice to turn him down and he’d get turned into someone chore boy. And it may have been selfish, but he was actually kinda enjoying his time with him. He didn’t exactly have a lot of people that liked him, so this was nice.

But his excused to stay alive were grasping at straws at best. He couldn’t see the future. Who knows, maybe monsters could live happily on the surface. He didn’t know shit about monsters, and Papyrus already had him not stealing. Who knows what they as a whole could do. And even if they couldn’t change it all, that fish lady looked scary, and like she could easily destroy him if she so wanted. Papyrus was probably the only thing keeping her from kicked his ass into paste. He’d be perfectly safe anywhere.

He knew what had to be done.

His body was reluctant to get out of bed. Walking off to your own death wasn’t really much of an easy thing to do, even if the pros outweighed the cons. Really the only difference than the last time he was on his way to die, was that this time it was on his terms. He had decided that he was going to do this, and that he was done with his little game with Papyrus. He had enjoyed it the entire time. But that just made his decision even more final. He’d give him the surface as a parting gift. It really wasn’t much, but he knew that it had been something that he wanted.

The walk down the stairs had been hard, and the fact that Papyrus wasn’t in the living room or kitchen just meant that he had to sit there and wait for him. It gave him way more time than he had wanted to think. Had things had been different, maybe he could live here with Papyrus and start a new life. He’d never really been much for cops, but maybe he’d give a try to the royal guards. He’d get to see more of the place Papyrus had called home. But that just wasn’t happening.

At some point, Papyrus had returned. He smelled of fire, and he almost wanted to ask what exactly had happened, but now wasn’t the time for that. Now he had to go and say goodbye and thank him, and then ask him where it was he actually had to go.

He had to have looked a mess, because Papyrus’s expression had dropped when he saw him. He felt kinda bad about it, because he had looked so excited and upbeat about everything before then, and whatever good mood he had just had, he had no doubt just killed.

“Sans, is everything alright?” Papyrus asked, lowering his voice to a tone that didn’t seemed like it should ever belong to anyone like Papyrus.

“listen, papyrus. i gotta be honest with you. this whole time i’ve been here, i’ve been keeping a secret. i’m not actually a monster. i’ve known from the start, and i’ve been lying about losing my memory. i’m a human and not a great one at that. i owe money to everyone, i lie, cheat, and steal, i’ve never been able to keep down a job, and hell, i can’t even read. i owed money to some shady people, and then i ended up being shot and pushed down here, and that’s why you found me like that. i know you worked so hard to try and help me, but i just can’t keep lying to you like this. the people who shot me put this mask on me to make me look like the joke i am on the inside. now that i know that i’m the last thing that’s keeping you and everyone else down here from being on the surface and getting to see the stars, i just, can’t let this go on. i’m sorry to have to do this, but where do i go to hand over my soul?”

While it did hurt to say all that stuff, it also felt a little freeing. Maybe now that Papyrus knew that he had been a human, and a pretty shitty one at that, then maybe he could leave on a bad note, and Papyrus wouldn’t miss him. He’d honestly rather just be forgotten at this point. He didn’t want to be a point in his friend’s life where he’d just feel grief every time he looked at the king, because he knew that his friend was there. Or if he couldn’t enjoy his freedom because all of it reminded him of him, and how there was nothing that he could do to save him.

But that’s not what happened.

Instead, Papyrus wrapped him in a tight hug. It really felt like he didn’t deserve it. He had just told him that he had been a human, the one thing that was standing in the way of his and everyone else’s freedom, and that he was also probably the worst human that had even was on top of all that. Yet he still hugged him, and he was pretty sure that he felt his shoulder getting wetter. Had he actually made Papyrus cry?

“I had a feeling that you were human. When I had cleaned you off and checked you for any other injuries I couldn’t tell what kind of monster you were. And when I got to know you, and saw you start to grow from all the pain in your life, I was really hoping that I was wrong, and that you were just some other type of monster pretending to be a skeleton. I didn’t really have much to go off of except for the tapes from shows on the surface. But I had really hoped that I was wrong. And I had hoped that you had actually forgotten, that way you wouldn’t have felt guilty about learning about the barrier. And I regret having told you about it.”

It hurt to hear him say these things. So much so that he was starting to feel regret. Papyrus was willing to stay underground with the rest of his race, just for his sake. Had he really actually meant that much to him? It hardly seemed real, yet it was happening right in front of his eyes.

“I don’t supposed I could talk you out of it?”

“sorry. my mind’s already been made up. don’t get me wrong, i’d love to stay, but i’d rather give you guys the surface. can’t say it’s the best prize ever, but it’s the lesser of two evils. you’re really gonna love the stars, they’re really great, even if the rest is kinda a mess.”

“I’m going to miss you, Sans.” This really hurt, but he couldn’t go back now. This was for his own good.

“i’m gonna miss you too, papyrus.”


	8. Chapter 8

He had felt awful about that goodbye. They had both left crying, and neither had the ability to console the other. How could you really comfort someone who wanted you to stay, even though you had to go die for the good of all of them, and how were you supposed to be consoled when you knew that there was someone out there that was going to mourn you and you had to leave them despite the fact that you could stay and live the rest of your life as a lie and with guilt knowing that all you had to do was die for them to all get their freedom. It was just something that couldn’t be done.

In all of that, he had actually failed to get the directions to the king, and instead had to ask around for information. It was difficult to ask for directions when people kept asking him if he was okay, and he had to keep saying he was, even if he knew full well that he was walking to his death right now, and there was no way that he was going to be walking out of this mess alive and that they were all going to benefit from this but he couldn’t just say it even if he felt it in every inch of his being.

The walk to the castle felt a lot like his drive to the dump, but at the same time it was different. It had the same heavy feel to it, but instead of being bound by ropes, he was bound by keeping his feelings in check as he walked through the streets full of people going about his day. The only difference was that he was pretty sure that there was going to be life after death for him. Just like that jackass who he still was unsure was real or not, he was going to be stuck seeing the king’s actions and his life. He wasn’t sure if it was going to be a first person things, or a third person thing, but either way he didn’t care. He was going to find out what it was exactly that kings did, because he was sure all of those stopped existing a million years about except for like the queen of England and her family. He was hoping that he wasn’t as big an ass as he was most of his life. He didn’t wanna relive all his mistakes he had made through the years.

Getting to the castle, it was actually pretty underwhelming. It was kinda like walking into what he would assume an old lady’s house would look like, except for if the old lady was really big. Not like a giant big, but like what a normal sized old lady would look like if he were like a toddler or something. Which comparatively was really big, but also not as big as it could all be.

He wasn’t exactly sure of what the protocol was in this kind of situation. He had not only just kinda let himself in, and now he wasn’t sure what to do with himself. It was already awkward because he wasn’t sure who even he was looking for, because none of these monsters really looked the same, and just from the cozy homey vibe this place gave off, he half expected him to be greeted by a giant granny like from television who was all hunched over but still towering over him and would be then offered a hard candy or some backed good of some kind.

Well if he was already intruding, he might as well look for the guy. Maybe the granny he keeps expecting to see will show up and give him some guidance or something. That was a thing that they did, right? He was probably also just as likely to find like a slave or a servant right? Kings had those, or at least the one’s on tv did, but the kings in those shows also didn’t have cozy little homes, but rather big extravagant castles that they’d sit on their thrones and look down upon people in and didn’t give off the vibe that he was about to get the best cookies of his life.

He had managed to find someone in the kitchen. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but they were big, white, and had massive horns and what looked to be a mane. He, wasn’t actually that scary looking. Especially since he had on a sweater and just kinda looked like a big mascot that you’d see at a sports game or at the fair or something. Except instead of the cold dead eyes of a mascot, he had caring eyes that looked full of compassion. It really wasn’t what he had expected.

“Howdy. I’ve never seen you around these parts before. You seem a bit shaken, would a cup of tea help. We could talk about what troubles you if you want, but you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” Was the entire Underground filled with just caring people like this? He almost didn’t want to go through with it so they wouldn’t have to go through with living on how awful the surface really was.

“you’re the king, right?”

“Yes, so I’m here to help you with whatever you need.”

He took a deep breath. This was it. This was where it was all going to end.

“i’m a human, so please take my soul so you can break the barrier and set everyone free.”

The king seemed a bit bothered by this revelation. It was like he himself hadn’t wanted this to happen either. He seemed almost saddened by the fact that he had brought this up. He gave him a sad smile.

“I guess that that cup of tea is out of the question. It’s a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming, kids like you should really be out there and enjoying life to it’s fullest. It’s not too late to back out of this. I can only overlook it this one time. Are you really sure you want to actually do this?” It was as if the king was pleading him to reconsider. He didn’t really seem the type to go out there and fight, let alone take a life. And it wasn’t like he was going to do it, right? Kings had better things to worry about than deal with scum like him. He didn’t even have to be there if he didn’t want to be. And it was probably going to be really quick considering he wasn’t even going to be putting up a fight.

“sorry. already said my goodbyes. it’d be weird if i went back now and told them i couldn’t do it” He could, but really they all deserved much better than him. He was still baffled by the tears his death had brought, but those were probably going to be the only ones.

“That’s really a shame. Then if you don’t have any unfinished business, follow me.” The king led him out down the stairs and through a garden in what looked to be a throne room. It was a really nice garden too. You could tell that a lot of love went into it. Gardening looked like it fitted the king a lot better than murder did. He doubted that he’d disagree, considering he seemed to be just as hesitant as he was as they made the march carefully through the throne garden.

 And then it was out into some drearier looking hallways that looked like they didn’t even belong there considering what he had just seen from the house to the throne room. From there, they entered a room that looked even more surreal than anything he had seen up to this point. For the first time since he had been down there, he could see traces of sunlight drifting in through the surreal walls.

“This is the barrier. Once I take your soul, I will absorb the others, and we will be unleashed onto the surface.” Seven jars ascended from the floor. Six of which held hearts, all of which were different colours. There was purple, two blues, a green, and orange, and a yellow just like the one he had seen in his dream. So those must’ve been the souls then. It seemed kinda weird seeing them on their own like that, but it was weird seeing them at all knowing that they were supposed to be in someone’s body and not just floating around like they were in jars.

In the time he had wasted staring at the jars, the king had managed to change into some much fiercer looking clothes, most notably into armor with a cape, and a massive trident by his side. Now he looked somewhat less like he should be out in a garden, and a touch more like he could take a life.

“I wish I could’ve gotten to know you human. Goodbye.”

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

The trident had been raised, and he had been braced for his strike. It’d feel just as painful as the gunshot, but hopefully it wouldn’t take any time at all. Just a quick slash and then the nothingness he had been expecting before his soul was absorbed. And then all he could expect was whatever it was that the king saw. Or maybe just nothingness like he had thought in the first place and that the king would just get more powerful from his soul. That’d be a pretty great turn of events.

But the trident came short of slicing his neck. The king instead froze, and the two of them stood there awkwardly in silence. This was not the death that he was expecting and that he had been completely ready for. He had known the king hadn’t wanted to do it, but was he really just going to let him leave even if his soul could just free them right now? They were so close, so why not just let him go the rest of the way and do it. He had nothing waiting for him after all.

“My boy, how have you absorbed a monster’s soul? That should be impossible.” He looked almost fearful, the trident had been lowered completely, and the tips were at his feet. He could now see his what he was going to guess was his soul. But instead of it being the pure yellow heart he had seen before just last night (or maybe this morning), it now had an upside down white hear behind it. It didn’t look like that the last time he had seen it. Maybe his dreams weren’t as fake as he had thought, and now his grip on reality seemed all but lost.

“truth be told, i don’t really know. i was out of it when i fell underground. i was supposed to be dead, but i guess that didn’t happen. some skeleton keeps popping up in my dreams when i sleep and blames me for his death and says that my hand was on his soul or something when his died? none of it really makes sense to me, but i swear i’m telling you the truth.” He honestly doubted that it was going to work. Even with all this bullshit, it sounded really fake.  Who accidentally takes someone else’s soul? It’s honestly so fucking stupid sounding.

“I suppose now would be as good a time as any for that tea. I’m unable to take your soul. A monster cannot absorb a monster soul, and seeing as your soul now has a monster soul, it means that I cannot take it. I’m sorry.” He apologized for some reason. His trident and his armor disappeared, leaving him looking kinda like a dad again. It wasn’t like he just changed real fast and threw his stuff off to the side, it honestly disappeared. It was like magic.

“Don’t tell me that humans have already forgotten how to equip already, my boy. Have things on the surface called down enough so that it’s not needed anymore?” He almost laughed. And that was really rude of him.

“hell if i know why we don’t use it. maybe it’s still used in the military, but for the rest of us it’s completely new. but i can tell you that the surface is still awful as its ever been. everyone’s still trying to fucking each other over and no one gives a shit about anyone.” He almost felt bad about it. They were all living under here and waiting in hopes that they would be one day freed, but it was still so awful up there that it was pretty well better to stay down here. The king gave him a soft, but sad smile.

“That sounds a lot like something someone very dear to me said. Come, let me make you a cup of golden flower and we can talk this over more.” He led the way back to the main house. They went through the garden once more, and up the stairs. He was brought over to a table that looked like it’d seat four or so. It was kinda strange considering that there was only one throne in the throne room, so that meant that he was living alone, right? Maybe he had friends over a lot or something. Meetings felt like they should be held in the throne room, but friends usually gathered in like living rooms and stuff, right? This table felt too big for him to eat at all on his own.

Watching the king make tea was different than watching Papyrus cook. He made it almost gently and delicately. It must’ve been hard given that he had big hands, but maybe that was just because all of him was big and he probably had all of his life to working with big hands and little things. He was not expecting the stove to be started with a tiny little puff of fire. Fire breathing isn’t something he would’ve expected him to do at all. He looked more like a goat, or a cow, but with like paws instead of hooves. Tea would be a lot harder to make wit hooves.

But trying to figure out what he was other than a monster was its own thing. That little fireball was so cool and fast, he was barely sure it even happened. This was honestly not at all what he was expecting when he came here. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling, but it might’ve been joy and disappointment. He was certainly feeling weird considering the man who was supposed to kill him found out he had no reason to and was now making him tea. There was something surreal about it and he could appreciate that.

Things were awkward for a bit once he had been given his tea. It wasn’t that he wasn’t grateful for him letting him live and giving him tea, but it might’ve been a little bit because he had just had a trident to his neck and he almost killed him. He’d say that was a fair reason for things to be uncomfortable.

“That hopeless expression on your face. It reminds me a lot of one of my children. They also had nothing but bad things to say about the surface. I don’t know what kind of life you lead before you fell, but now you can start over. It’s perhaps not the best, but if humans and monsters can get along, then maybe this time it’ll be different. When we finally reach the surface, we won’t need to rage war, but we’ll instead be able to live with the humans. I just need to ask you one favor. Accidental or not, I cannot have it getting out to the people that you’ve absorbed a monster soul. And I need you to promise me that you’ll never do it again. I don’t want to take any avoidable actions.”

“but why would you even want to make peace with humans? we’re the actual worst.”

“There’s two reasons. One, monsters stand no chance against humans in battle, and I’m worried that not even seven souls will be enough to stand against them. We’ve already lost so much, and I can’t imagine the casualties we’ll face this time. I don’t want to do that again. But most importantly, I’ve heard stories from the other souls before they passed. Each told me different stories about the surface. There were some really hopeful stories, and I can only hope that that’s the surface that greets us.”

“so if you don’t want to do it, then why do you? you’re king right? kings can do whatever they want.”

“Sometimes you just need to hold on any little thread of hope you can. Humans took everything from us, and I made a rash decision because of it. Nothing that I’ve done will ever be seen as right, but this is an unwinnable situation. Death is the only way to break the barrier. Had this war not been the only ray of hope to my people, then it would’ve been over years ago.”

“with all due respect, can i just, stay a skeleton? you’re giving me the chance to start over right? if the hope of the peace between monsters and humans is riding on me, then you’re really betting on the wrong horse. i won’t be able to start over all the way unless i leave my past behind. that includes being human. besides, do i really count if i have a monster soul?”

“I suppose that’s fair. Putting all that on you does seem like a bit much.” He sighed, he looked more nostalgic and full of regret. There was probably a reason for that, but he didn’t feel like it was hisr place to ask.

Now that an uncomfortable silence had passed, and their tea cups had been emptied. The king got up.

“You should be heading back. You said you said your goodbyes, and I’m sure they’d love to hear the good news. I’ve kept you long enough.”

And then he walked off and disappeared back down the stairs after pouring himself another cup.


	10. Chapter 10

While he still felt knida bad about the fact that even if he tried he couldn’t help the underground by setting them free because his soul was already a fucking mess, he wouldn’t deny that he was actually happy about getting to live. He actually had life to look forward to. It was aimless right now, and he really only had Papyrus’s place to go, but he could actually appreciate that now he had a place to stay that was safe, he had no more debt, and he actually had someone who cared about him. This was a new chance for him. Sam was dead, and in his place stood Sans, the skeleton.

Now that he could actually take all this in, it was like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. A lifetime of fuck ups and misery was now behind him, and he could finally just breathe. He was finally free to do something with his life, because now he actually had a chance. No money was a hell of a lot better than owing money to like ten different people.  And he had Papyrus to help him. He could probably get him to help him find a job. Someone as friendly as him would have no trouble finding someone who’d be willing to give him a shot.

He just had to get passed the awkwardness of the fact that he had told Papyrus that he was walking off to die for them, and that he was probably expecting freedom at any moment. He’d be a disappointment, but hopefully he didn’t mind too much. He didn’t seem too happy with the fact that he had to leave, so hopefully he’d still be willing to take him back in even after he got his hopes up like that.

But even so he found himself hesitating at the door. He was starting to feel doubt. Because even unintentionally, he had just denied him the surface that he had been waiting his whole life to see. It hardly seemed fair to just show back up an hour or two later still alive and the barrier still up.

That wasn’t the person Papyrus was, and he knew it. He was arguably the most genuine person he knew, so all of what he had seen in the past few days was the real Papyrus. If he was here right now with him, he’d be told he was being silly and that of course he was always welcome in his home, and then he’d ask how he was feeling, because he was probably still supposed to be resting after the completely deserved shot to the head. Those doubts would just have to be swallowed and he’d knock at the door.

There was a brief eternity as he waited for the door to be answered and for him to know if he was still fine with him living there with him, for at least until he found a job that he could sustain himself on. And then after that he’d be out of his metaphorical hair and that he could go on living his life and they could hang out sometimes outside of that and be something other than roommates where he fucking mooched off of him and was a useless piece of shit all the time and made him pull all the weight.

The Papyrus that had answered the door was one that he wasn’t expecting. He was so much different than the one he had come to know. He looked completely deflated and there were faint traces of orange streaming down his face from his sockets. But that was only for a brief moment until his eyesockets (?) registered who it was standing at his door, and he had almost instantly recovered. It seemed that they were both at the point where they were so happy that they were in tears. He could try and hide it all he wanted, but he was so glad that the one place he could truly call home had accepted him back so easily.

It was only for the briefest of moments that he saw him though, because within moments he was pulled into a tight hug that had his arms not been bound by, he’d’ve hugged back. It was like the one he had gotten from him earlier, but it was nowhere near as heavy. It was very different because now they weren’t mourning him as he was supposed to go and never come back because death is supposed to be final. But it was a lucky thing that not even death wanted him, and that he was fated to keep living.

This was a hug that was celebrating him being alive, and there was just something so nice about it. It was warm, and happy, and safe. It was like for once in his life nothing bad could happen and that this hug for even just this instant was protecting him from everything wrong in this world. In fact in that moment, nothing else existed. It was just him and Papyrus, and he was safe. It was like after all those years and he had finally found home. It wasn’t some rundown apartment, it was a person. A person that actually cared about him and that he could feel.

There was no need for words, because all that really needed to be said was being said in this hug. He was alive and safe, and he was being welcomed back without any hesitation. They’d worry about the details of why he was here and why he hadn’t gone through with actually dying later. He wouldn’t question why he was going to be accepted instead of freedom for everyone. They would deal with all that at a later time. Because now was a time of joy for both of them.

Words couldn’t actually describe how happy it was that there was someone here who was willing to let him call him home like this. It wasn’t formally out there, but it was pretty safe to say that it was known just by how they were holding each other. It wasn’t a romantic thing, but maybe something more akin to a family thing, but probably more so just holding onto each other as tight as they could, because of fear that they’d just simply disappear as quickly as they had come. It just made all of this seem more real.

He had taken everything he said back. He didn’t want this to be a dream, and if it was he never wanted to wake up again. And if this was some sort of purgatory, then he was ready to stay here forever and make up for what the world as a whole probably owed him. Because now out of seemingly nowhere he had it. He had a home and he was happy and everything had purpose. He wasn’t actually sure if Papyrus understood what this had meant to him. He had told him but that didn’t mean that he got it. But he didn’t care, even if he didn’t get it, he’d still be thankful to the moon and back because of all he had done for him. He was most of the reason that anything here mattered.

There was one other person, and as big of an asshole he was, and for as badly as he wanted him dead, that skeleton that he had accidentally stolen the soul of. If it weren’t for him, he would’ve been dead at the King’s, and they’d all be on the surface. Hell he’d even put money on the fact that since he took his soul, he had been allowed to live as long as he had. For as much as he had hated him for the fact that he was just a colossal ass hat, he had him to thank just as much as Papyrus. It might not’ve been him himself, but it was most certainly thanks to his soul, and that had to count for something.

The fact that there was really no telling how long time had passed in the underground, combined with the fact that the sheer power of the emotions they had felt had left them feeling like time had just stood still completely to let them have their moment. He had no idea how much time had passed, and only now was it feeling as though life had started moving again and that no matter how much he wanted it to never end, the moment had begun to pass. The joy had no threat of passing any time soon, but there was only so much time one could spend just standing in a doorway like this. There was a perfectly good couch inside that they could go and sit on, and there talk was going to have to be a private one anyways.

But before they broke the hug, Papyrus told him in a quiet voice choked by tears of joy.

“Welcome home, Sans.”


	11. Chapter 11

 

Papyrus was going to make supper for them. It didn’t feel like supper time, but ever since he had gotten there, he couldn’t actually tell how much time has passed. But Papyrus was a person he could trust, and honestly Sans couldn’t really say he was that concerned about what he was eating. He wasn’t the picky type anyway, so he’d eat whatever for any meal. 

But since there was still time before they ate, Sans figured there was enough time to have a bath. He had gotten to the point where he hated the feel of his skin, and that was about the time when he took a bath. Knowing how above and beyond Papyrus went with his everything, he probably made sure he was clean when he was taking care of him when he was on death’s door. 

Thinking back to it, it was a little weird. Papyrus was a total stranger, and knowing that he’s seen him naked did make things a little weird. This was going to have to be one of those things that Sans just never thought about ever. Papyrus was a good guy and he was gonna have to think of something to thank him. 

He started the water going in the tub. As much as he’d like to have it boiling hot, Sans was already kinda a parasite here. He’d just use warm water. He was going to just use whatever Papyrus used as shampoo, but looking at the stuff along the side of the tub where the shampoos usually went, there was a bunch of bottle that didn’t really look like they belonged by a bathtub. 

Just in case, Sans picked up the bottle and opened the lid. He probably knew it wouldn’t work as well for him seeing as he’s never had to unscrew a lid to a shampoo in his life, but he sniffed it anyways. It smelled like it was almost medicinal. Probably wasn’t for him. He’d screw the lid back on and set it down where it was. 

Now what was he gonna do. He could use the hand soap in there. It didn’t look like it had ever been used, which either Papyrus just replaced it or he learned something that sounded drastically out of character. 

Fortunately there was a knock at the door. He turned the knob and unlocked it for Papyrus. He handed him a bottle of yellow more soaplike liquid, and had a spare set of clothes on his arm. His other hand was covering his eyes.

“IT COMPLETELY SLIPPED MY MIND THAT YOU WEREN’T A SKELETON. YOUR FACE KEPT TRICKING ME. BUT I GOT SOME STUFF WHILE YOU WERE RECOVERING SO YOU WOULDN’T BE ALL DIRTY AND GRIMY WHEN YOU WOKE UP. ALSO MY OLD CLOTHES SEEM TO FIT YOU ALMOST PERFECTLY! SO I BROUGHT MORE OF MY CLOTHES” That explained where the clothes he was in came from. He glad they were old clothes, because he’d feel kinda bad if he went out of his way to get him new clothes.

“thanks, but you don’t have to cover your eyes, i’m still dressed.” He’d hold onto the soap, and he’d put the clothes on the counter.

“IT’S FINE! I’LL BE OUT OF YOUR HAIR NOW. HAVE A NICE BATH!” And then Papyrus closed the door. Sans would lock it, then he’d go stop his bath. 

He’d toss his clothes to the corner, then make a halfass attempt to pull off his mask. For a bunch of goons, those fuckers sure knew how to put on a garbage mask. It made him wish that he had paid attention to how they put this tacky thing on him, because he couldn’t find where it even started. He’d have noticed if they did anything to it and him, because he was numb, but not that numb.

Whatever. He could just take a cloth later and try not to drown himself in his mask while he did it.

It seemed stupid to be in a tub with no clothes on but still have a halloween mask on. It was one of those things where he was glad no one was there to see it, because it felt like one of the stupidest sober things he had ever done. Okay not the stupidest, but looks wise the stupidest.

He stared up at the ceiling. Man his life was so fucking weird. He was sitting in the tub of a skeleton’s house, he got yelled at by a fish person, and then a goat lion helped him find a will to live. It had been a day, maybe two since he had been up and maybe this was just the result of that bullet he took. And now his vision was just going to be fucked forever. 

It didn’t feel right to take any of Papyrus’s brushes, so he’d just do when he always did and he’d pour the soap into the water and the bits that stuck out and rub it in with his hands. 

Given all the weird shit he’d seen, he almost didn’t want to look down to see how bad it was. He’d just maybe stare up at the ceiling for a bit longer until he had to get out. 

Or at least that was the plan, until he felt something touch his hand. Sans was almost positive the tub was empty before he filled it. He almost didn’t want to look because what if something fucked up had slipped out of the faucet and into the tub with him when he was running the water. He was used to gross shit happening because his set up was shitty, but Papyrus had a nice house and he didn’t want something like that to happen to him. He dealt with all of Sans’s bullshit he didn’t need added on house bullshit. 

Gathering up his courage, he looked down. Immediately he started to gag. It kinda made him glad he was doing this before supper. He had seen a lot of fucked up shit, but he was sure there was nothing in this world to prepare you to see chunks of your own skin and muscles just floating in the water. He hadn’t had been making an active effort to not look at his body because he pretty sure he was seeing shit, but he was definitely feeling things. 

What was he going to do? This wasn’t at all a thing he could prepare for, or even deal with on his own. He had to get help. It was going to suck for both of them, but he needed it.

“pAPYRUS?!” His voice cracked when he yelled. He should look towards the door until Papyrus got there, but there was something that was just so terrifying about staring at chunks of yourself floating in water. 

“ARE YOU ALRIGHT SANS?” His finger poked at the parts of him where he was going to assume the chunks came from. 

“NO.”

“CAN YOU COME TO THE DOOR?” 

“I DON’T THINK I CAN” Because would he be able to stand on his legs if they didn’t have all their meat? He didn’t want to play that game he just wanted to play it safe. 

“OKAY! I’M GOING TO BREAK DOWN THE DOOR OKAY?”    
  
“OKAY.” The door was yanked off its hinges backwards. He barely had time to question it before Papyrus was over to his side. 

“papyrus what the fuck is wrong with me? you can see this too right? i’m not just seeing that pieces of me are just coming off, right?” He didn’t know what kind of answer he wanted to this. This whole situation just felt like a loss all around. 

“NO I- I SEE YOU’RE COMING APART.”  Papyrus kept looking like he was trying to pick him up, then deciding against it, then repeating. 

“I’M… I’M GOING TO GO MAKE A PHONE CALL TO MY OLDER BROTHER. HE CAN HELP US OUT WITH THIS. HE’S DEALT WITH HUMANS BEFORE.” Papyrus pulled out his phone, but he spoke in a quiet voice. He kept his hand on the tub by Sans’s head, and kept glancing down at the mess that was made of his tub.

“HE’LL BE ON HIS WAY. I’LL STAY WITH YOU. OKAY?”

“thanks papyrus.” 


	12. Chapter 12

He wasn’t entirely sure who he was expecting when Papyrus told him his brother was coming over. In all honesty, he didn’t care. So long as he could fix this or tell him what the fuck was happening, it didn’t matter what the fuck he did. So long as there was some sort of resolution, it was fine.

A skeleton taller than Papyrus glided into the room like some sort of otherworldly being. He held himself with such ominous power that for a second he thought he was the grim reaper. He had to wonder if he was being racist towards skeletons, or if someone else was on the same page. 

The skeleton wordlessly loomed over them for a second, before Papyrus turned to him. This had to be his brother. Because even if Papyrus was the kind of guy to just let some random person into his house, he felt like the situation made this an exception. 

“WINGDINGS! THANK GOODNESS YOU’RE HERE! CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT’S WRONG WITH SANS?” The skeleton knelt down by the tub, and rolled up the sleeves on his turtleneck. He proceeded to touch and poke at Sans, and it made him feel really awkward that he was naked in the tub being looked at by two different skeletons, one of whom he just met.

The skeleton picked up a bit of the debris floating in there with Sans. He set it off to the side before drying his hands off on a towel, and moving his hands around for both him and Papyrus to see. Papyrus nodded knowingly, and it really made Sans feel like he was out of the loop here. What exactly is he missing?

“THAT DOESN’T SEEM RIGHT?” The other skeleton’s hands moved some more, before slowing and looking at Sans. He hadn’t known it was possible for a skeleton to roll their eyes, but Wingdings sure could. He pulled out a pen and paper and started to write something down. 

“i, uh, can’t read.” He just felt worse about it when the pen and paper were dropped on the floor mid writing. Wingdings threw his arms in the air in exasperation. 

“I CAN TRANSLATE. IT’S OKAY.” Papyrus awkwardly turned to face Wingdings more, who continued to move his arms about and somehow Papyrus understood. 

“ALRIGHT, SO I GUESS WHAT’S HAPPENING IS THAT YOUR BODY IS DECOMPOSING. I DON’T REALLY KNOW WHY OR HOW, BUT IT IS?”

 

“but i’m not dead? i thought that only happened when you died?” Well he did get shot in the head, and fall an incredibly long way. By all accounts he should be dead, but he’s still here thanks to Papyrus. 

“IS IT BECAUSE OF THE MONSTER SOUL YOU ABSORBED?” Papyrus’s eye sockets widened. “IS THAT WHERE TIMES WENT? IS THAT WHY WE FOUND THE SOUL OUT THERE BUT NOT TIMES?” 

Wingdings stopped moving for a second, then started moving faster than he had before.

“SANS DO YOU BY ANY CHANCE REMEMBER HOW YOU GOT YOUR MONSTER SOUL?” 

“i remember i fell, and then for a second i was running through a dump, and i heard a gunshot, and then i fell on me. and now i keep having dreams about a pissed off skeleton because he died instead of me.” 

Wingdings had to have said something bad because Papyrus gasped and gave Wingdings a small shove. 

‘I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL BUT DON’T USE THAT LANGUAGE!” 

“so whose times?”

“HE USED TO WORK FOR MY BROTHER IN THE LAB BEFORE HE TOOK A HUMAN SOUL AND RAN. HE WAS GOING TO HIDE IN THE DUMB AND ABSORB IT THEN RUN ACROSS THE BARRIER, BUT WE CAUGHT ON PRETTY QUICKLY AND I WAS GOING TO ARREST HIM WHEN I SAW YOU. UNDYNE WAS UP ALL NIGHT FOR THREE DAYS LOOKING FOR HIM. SHE’S GOING TO BE UPSET THAT SHE COULDN’T DEAL WITH HIM HERSELF.” But despite that he looked pretty relieved. It was pretty understandable. Even if the bastard escaped punishment, he was basically dead so it wasn’t like he could actually do anything. And that was better than just having him roam around and doing crimes or whatever the fuck. 

“so how are we going to deal with this?” Sans just kinda gestured to the all of him floating in the tub. Wingdings looked at him, then moved some more at Papyrus. 

“THERE’S NOTHING THAT CAN BE DONE. IT HAS TO BE A SIDE EFFECT OF HAVING A MONSTER SOUL. WE’RE MADE ENTIRELY OF MAGIC, SO I THINK TIME’S SOUL IS TURNING YOU INTO A SKELETON.” There was really no solution, and even Papyrus looked at him with helpless sympathy. 

“so this is just gonna be my life until there’s nothing left but bone?”

“UNFORTUNATELY.”

“fuck.” 


	13. Chapter 13

After the most stressful bath he’s ever taken, and then the most awkward supper, Sans decided it’d be best to go to bed. He knew without a doubt that once he got to sleep, Times would be there to be an ass at him. Times already knew that, and that meant that out of the three skeletons he now knew, all of them had seen his penis. 

 

Thinking about that lead to questions, but questions he didn’t have answers to, and he was sure he didn’t want the answers to. But it also lead to one question, which was why Times got to know so much about him, but he didn’t know anything about Times. In that short bit in the tub he learned more than he ever thought he was going to learn about that asshole that lived in his head. 

 

Going to sleep tonight, he was going into this conversation with a name for this fuck hole, his old job, and exactly what the fuck he was doing at the dump that day. Sans might not’ve been the smartest, but he was smart enough to realize that he had seen through that bastard’s eyes, even if just for a moment. 

 

As all their meetings went, it felt like Sans opened his eyes, and that bastard was sitting on the bed. He sat there, staring straight at the wall. He made an attempt to sit up, but he couldn’t. How the hell was he going to get answers from him if he couldn’t look him straight in the eyes. 

 

“So I suppose this is where you start getting all preachy at me, right? Because I stole something valuable from someone important. Because I’m certainly the only one in this room who stole.” He couldn’t even defend himself. Those were just facts of who he was. Sometimes he didn’t even steal for almost acceptable reasons. Most of the time it was just so he could get wasted so he didn’t have to deal with anything anymore. 

 

“Let me let you in on a little secret. The king is stalling for time. He doesn’t want to finish the war he started. He’s perfectly content with just letting us all rot down here. If it wasn’t for your useless soul, we could already be out there. Everyone could be under the sun again. But you just had to fuck it up. You were so close to saving me a step, but now we’re all stuck down here for who knows how long. How much longer until we run out of space and resources? We’ve basically be condemned to death by starvation in the long run.” Times was visibly shaking. His gaze fixed on him with something in his sockets that looked like little embers burning brightly. 

 

“Because of you, you’ve damned us to another who the fuck knows how long until another human falls. It’s been three hundred years!” Bones were summoned into him, bones that hurt like they were actually piercing his body. It was basically like Papyrus’s, but they were white and they hurt like hell. 

 

Words died in his throat as the pain made him forget about what he was saying. It felt like the very core of his being was being torn, before they stopped abruptly and left him with a throbbing ache across his chest and stomach. 

 

“If it weren’t for the fact I wanted to watch you suffer, you’d be dead already. I don’t want you to ever forget what you did.”

 

“I TRIED TO GIVE MY SOUL TO THE KING. FOR ALL THE MONSTERS. HE COULDN’T TAKE IT THERE’S NOTHING I CAN DO.” He managed to bark out the words through the pain. 

 

“I already told you that your soul was useless now. There’s nothing you can do to make it up to me. My life was tossed away for someone like you. I’ve gone out of my way to do the right thing, but someone like you who lived a life of drinking and debt who’s done nothing but lie and steal gets to live on instead. I’m going to make you pay for every last thing you’ve ever done in the only way I can. You’re going to suffer until you die.” 

 

More bones were summoned, and they were thrust back into his chest and stomach. It hurt just as much as it did the first time. He tried to move his hands to where he was hit, but he could do little else than grip the sheets as every part of his midsection cried out in pain. 

 

“My magic might be limited to here, but I’ll make every last bit of it count. You’re going to suffer like I’m going to suffer for the rest of your life.” 

 

He hated this. He hated him.

 

“The feeling is mutual.” Times sneered, having done the dick move of having read his mind.

 

“You say that like I’m not forced to hear every last one of your thoughts. And I’m stuck in your head, not the other way around so that’s why you can’t hear mine. I’m not happier about having the weaker soul in this situation either.”

 

A final bone was thrust into his chest before Times scoffed and got rid of them all. He still felt like he was burning from the inside out. 

 

“Congratulations. You now know what it’s like to feel magical damage. Better get used to it, because I’ll be making sure every moment you sleep is going to be filled with that pain. Just because you’re waking up, doesn’t mean you’re free.” 

 

Times sneered at him before turning away from him again. Guess that wall was more interesting than watching someone who can’t move make pained faced. 

 

“Enjoy your little break, scum. I’ll be waiting for you next time you sleep. I’ll make sure I point out every mistake you made, and I’ll have plenty of magic waiting for you.”


	14. Chapter 14

Sans woke up with a start to Papyrus by his side. Papyrus quickly pulled his hands away from him. It was still mostly dark in his room, but he hadn’t actually seen it get darker or lighter, so really it could be about any time. The worst part was that he couldn’t even tell how long he was asleep for and how long he was dealing with all that because he felt just as tired, and probably more ragged than when he went to sleep.

“Sans? Are you alright? You were yelling in pain in your sleep.” Sans put his hands over his stomach and laid back down. He wanted to say it was just a dream, but he knew it wasn’t. He was going to be attacked again later, so it didn’t matter if he told or not. 

“nope, turns out times doesn’t like that i know things about him. made that pretty clear. made the decision to just start attacking me every night from now on because he wanted to free the underground and i get no points for trying.” Which was bullshit, because Sans was still trying to get over the whole skeleton talking to him when he told him so he wasn’t really picking up on much of anything other than holy shit skeleton. 

“I’m so sorry Sans, I- I didn’t mean to accidentally cause you trouble like this. I wasn’t thinking and I got you involved in trying to solve that mystery with us. I didn’t mean for it to end like this for you.” Papyrus’s voice faltered.

He really hoped that Times was proud of himself for what he’d done. He could be made at Sans all he wanted, but now Papyrus was going to end up as an accidental casualty of this petty bullshit. Sans knew he had done a lot of fucked up shit, but at least Papyrus was a good person who was just trying to do his job and going above and beyond to help a stranger he didn’t even know.

“it’s not your fault. if times wanted to ruin my life, he would have anyways. i would have figured it out eventually, and it was only a matter of time before i learned something and upset him.” 

“At least let me heal you a little.” That wouldn’t hurt too much he supposed. He nodded.

His nod was quickly followed by a wince, as he tried to jerk away from the green bones that had been summoned into his torso and he hit his head on the wall. It hurt like a bitch and he knew that in his head that this bastard was going to be laughing at him. 

“OH MY GOD! I’M SO SORRY! I FORGOT THAT THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE HOW HE ATTACKED YOU!” Papyrus seemed really unsure of what to do, but he sounded really stressed about all this and Sans couldn’t blame him.

“no it’s fine. i asked you to so it’s my own fault for forgetting about it.” He rubbed his head, that was starting to feel a lot less like rubber and he was suspicious about. But he’d let that slide for now.

“so does all magic look like that?”

“WHAT?” Papyrus was kinda caught off guard by the question, but to be fair he was already pretty frazzled to begin with. 

“like shaped like bones, is it always shaped like bones?” Because so far it was only bone shaped magic that he had seen. And he didn’t want to sound like a racist, but he didn’t know if that was all magic or just skeleton magic. 

“OH, NO THIS IS JUST THE EASIEST SHAPE FOR SKELETONS. I COULD MAKE IT DIFFERENT SHAPES, BUT THE HARD PART WOULD BE TO KEEP IT GREEN AND MAKE IT DIFFERENT SHAPES.” The colour mattered?

“so you can make it different colours?” 

“YES, BUT IT ALL MEANS DIFFERENT THINGS. LIKE WHITE HURTS YOU IF IT TOUCHES YOU, YELLOW DOESN’T HURT BUT IS GREAT FOR PRACTICE, BLUE HURTS YOU IF YOU MOVE THROUGH IT, ORANGE HURTS IF YOU DON’T MOVE THROUGH IT, AND GREEN HEALS YOU.” Wow magic was a lot more complicated than he thought. He was going to be made fun of for thinking it was going to be simple but there was a lot more stuff going on. 

“AND THAT’S NOT EVEN COVERING TYPES OF MAGIC THAT AFFECT MOVEMENT AND SUCH.”

“wait there’s more?”

“YES! MAGIC IS A VERY COMPLEX SUBJECT. CAN HUMANS NOT USE IT?” He was pretty sure that was a no. Even if he barely spoke to anyone, he’d still know if someone was out there shooting magic at people. 

“not that i know of. i’m not really the best person to ask about human knowledge. i was like the bottom of the barrel type of human.” He could already hear Times mocking him and telling him that he was fishing for compliments, but then following it up on comments on how Sans was the worst. 

“WELL, FORTUNATELY FOR YOU, I CAN SHOW YOU ALL ABOUT MAGIC, AS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM VERY WELL VERSED IN THE ART OF MAGIC. I CAN NOT ONLY EXPLAIN, BUT I CAN ALSO SHOW!” Papyrus looked back down at Sans. 

“OF COURSE, I’LL WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE FEELING BETTER.”

 


End file.
